'Big Short' investor Michael Burry says governments may 'handicap' bitcoin - and doubts it can disrupt global finance

• Michael Burry said governments could handicap bitcoin to protect their currencies.
• The "Big Short" investor also said he doubts cryptocurrencies can disrupt the financial system.
• Burry has slammed bitcoin as a "speculative bubble" with an uncertain future.
• Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Bitcoin could be sidelined by governments that consider it a threat to their currencies, Michael Burry said in a now-deleted tweet on Tuesday.

"Regarding #BTC, will central banks ever use it as a store of value, or will they be compelled to handicap it and relegate it to niche status like so many promissory notes?" the investor said. Bitcoin has traded near record highs after more than tripling in price over the past six months.

"Long term, this is what matters in a world of centralized, powerful, violent and ruthless governments," Burry said.

Burry is best known for his billion-dollar bet against the US housing bubble in the mid-2000s, which was immortalized in Michael Lewis' book "The Big Short" and its film adaptation, in which Christian Bale played Burry.

In another deleted tweet on Tuesday, Burry said bitcoin might struggle to disrupt an entrenched global financial system that has relied on fiat currencies for centuries.

"Regarding #BTC and other cryptocurrencies, might bulls be underestimating the already-established network effect embodied in the global fiat economic system that chooses a captain and is then beholden to support that captain, until said captain changes?" he said.

Burry has been a vocal critic of bitcoin, last week describing the digital coin as a "speculative bubble" fueled by debt.

In February, he said its long-term prospects were "tenuous," but he added that he wasn't short bitcoin, as "anything is possible" in the near future.

Moreover, the investor tweeted last month that most bitcoin was mined in countries that face sanctions, such as China, Iran, and Russia.

As a result, he said, "crypto is in a race" to win enough institutional backing to resist the efforts of regulators and central banks to destroy it.

Read more: Michael Oh has beaten 99% of his peers over the past 10 years managing the Matthews Asia Innovators Fund. He told us the 4 pillars of his investing strategy and shared 3 stocks he thinks will see explosive growth over the next 5 to 10 years.